| Archive for workinghprs.myfastforum.org Chat forum for owners of working HPR and Versatile gundog breeds. |
| Blue |
Epagneul Bleu de PicardieI know I'm the only one who has one, but if anyone is interested in more information on this HPR breed or their sister breed the Epagneul Picard, just ask.
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| BenB |
Striking looking dog you have. It looks as if it might share some breed ancestry with the munsterlanders? Geographically I suppose Picardie and Bremen are not too far apart...
Enlighten me! |
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| BenB |
just found this:
A Brief History of the Blue Picardy Spaniel By Don Fath, Alexcyril Sporting Dogs -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Blue Picardy Spaniel There are five spaniels native to France: the Brittany , the Pont Audemer, the French , the Picard and the Blue Picardy. These spaniels are a "mayonnaise of chromosomes" from dogs indigenous to the Middle East, the British Isles, Italy and Spain. Like many other breeds, the 'ancient' history of the spaniels of France is sketchy and there is more than one interpretation of the available historical information. In French, the word "spaniel" evolved from the verb "espaigne" which, in old French, means, "to drop on the ground". During the Fourteenth century, the French Spaniels were very often used for hunting under the net. This method of hunting consisted in catching game (and the dog) by using a net laden with weights. The dog was to lie down flat on its belly as soon as it saw a covey of partridges or a hare, and the net was thrown over top. From this came its name of "setting dog", or spaniel. The first French spaniels originated from the Middle East. During the Crusades, near the end of the Eleventh century, the French knights traveled to the Holy Land accompanied by their pointers (Braques) and hunting hounds. Inevitably, breedings between Arab Greyhounds and the pointers occurred and the first ancestors to the French spaniels were born. In the 14th century, Gaston Phébus and Henri de Ferrières recorded the first descriptions of the French "setting dogs" in their treatises on hunting. Gaston Phébus had more than 1,000 dogs including Spanish and Italian Pointers. In 1578, the French nobility prohibited hunting to all people except the nobility. After the French Revolution, privilege hunting ended. Over the years, the spaniels of France separated into many regional types, where size, color and hunting abilities varied according to the areas they inhabited and their owners’ hunting habits. Picardie, France, particularly the area around the Bay of Somme, was a paradise for hunters of waterfowl. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, hunters and dogs from Great Britain crossed the English Channel to hunt in France. The Picardie marshes and Brittany’s sandy moors became the favorite hunting grounds of many setter and spaniel owners. When the British quarantine was implemented, effectively prohibiting the re-entry of their dogs into Great Britain, many hunters boarded their setters on Picardie farms. Consequently, the Picard Spaniels were crossed with blue Belton English and Gordon Setters and the Blue Picardy Spaniel was the result. The presence of the first black, blue-gray coated spaniel was recorded in 1875 but it was not until after 1900 that the Picard Spaniel (French Spaniel crossed with French herding dogs and hounds) first appeared in the dog fanciers’ circle. In 1904, a Mr. Ratel showed a Picard Spaniel, officially classified as a French Spaniel, at the Paris Canine Exposition. It was not until 1907, when the Spaniel Club was founded, that specific classes were formed for each variety of spaniel. In 1921 the Picard Spaniel and Blue Picardy Spaniel Club was formed. The Blue Picardy Spaniel was classified as a separate breed because of its distinctive "grayish-black mottled" color and its blue rather than brown skin pigmentation. In Europe, the breed was recognized as a distinct race in 1938. The Canadian Kennel Club officially recognized the Blue Picardy Spaniel in 1995. References: Les Epagneuls de France — Pierrick Le Louarn — 1995 Club d'Épagneul Picard, Bleu de Picardie, Pont Audemer Atout Chien Magazine — 1987 and 1995 The International Encyclopedia of Dogs — Anne Rogers Clarke and Andrew Brace — 1995 Dogs – David Alderton - 1993 |
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| BritAnnie |
Looks very handsome. What height are they at the shoulder? Are there are any in the UK, do you know? I'd love to see them 'in the flesh'
Do they perform the same function today as the other HPR's |
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| tashap |
what a stunning looking dog | ||
| chiendog |
The Blue is indeed an HPR expected to, well.. H, P and R....(hunt point retrieve).
Don's history of the breed is more or less correct, except for the part about the crusades, knights and greyhounds which is an oft repeated, but unsupported, fairy tale IMO. In a nutshell, the Blue is a variety of French Spaniel that has had liberal doses of English setter mixed in over the last hundred years. They are beutiful dogs, run, point and fetch very well. Their popularity in France has increased enormously in the last 20 years but alas, mainly among non-hunters. There are still some great hunting lines and excellent breeders out there, but the slippery slope of the show ring and pet market is now in play. I've some photos of a lovely young blue on my site here: (scroll down, they are at the bottom. The first photos are of a Saint Usuge Spaniel, and then of Brittanies, Griffons, Braques etc. until you get to the blue) http://www.craigkoshykphoto.ca/france08.html/ |
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| Blue |
Don Fath is the man most responsible for bringing the Blue to Canada and for getting the breed recognized by the Canadian Kennel Club (for good or bad).
To my knowledge there are no Blues or Picardies in the U.K. although there very well could be. Craig is correct, although somewhat pessimistic about the Blues relative upswing in popularity. They are indeed the most popular of the 3 "rare" french spaniels (along with the Picard and the Pont Audemer) however their numbers are still miniscule compared to Bretons et al. Personally a "proper" Gundog in the show ring is not in itself a bad thing. In my opinion an Epagneul Bleu de Picardie will NEVER win a major show championship, they just don't have the showmanship. The fact that they are being shown more often is fine, but their longterm future will be as a hunting dog, there is no doubt about that. Thanks everyone for the kind comments. |
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| chiendog |
I'm getting to be a curmudgeon as I enter middle age.  I guess that since I a weim owner I am all to aware of what a sudden increase in popularity can do to a breed.
You are correct, the Blue has a very small population compared to others like the Brittany and English setter in France (about 5000 pups each per year). But the Blue has gone from maybe 50 pups per year to nearly 300 per year in just the last 20 years. Yet despite the nearly six-fold increase in births, the number of Blues running field trials and hunt tests has actually declined during that time. And that, to me, is worrying. I've spoken to a few Blue breeders though and they share your optimism that the breed will remain a hunting dog, at least in the near term. |
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